Mom kangaroo heartlessly shot by dart as she carried her baby joey

In the Vines of north Perth in western Australia, a fatally injured mother kangaroo was spotted just days ago in a family’s backyard barely able to stand or walk.

According to the Daily Mail, as the mother with a joey in her pouch turned around, the couple who spotted the suffering animal saw a large, green homemade dart had been shot into her back.

Sadly, veterinarians had to humanely euthanize the mother kangaroo; the dart was lodged too close to the kangaroo’s spine.

“She was in a lot of pain; you could tell by the way she tried to move. We could see a lot of swelling,” stated Andrea Marzi of Express Wildlife Rescue who had hoped to save the mother’s life. “We assessed it, and unfortunately we had to call animal control and have the animal destroyed because [the dart] was right next to the spine…and it was in so far.”

The 11-month-old baby is now struggling to survive and is being cared for by Marzi. The area is home to many kangaroos. There have been no leads or arrests in the disturbing animal cruelty case. Rest in peace sweet mother.